A man bicycling past a Metairie apartment complex turned around to fondle and photograph a diaperless 2-year-old boy who was playing in the courtyard, authorities said Monday. Booked with sexual battery, Lazaro Parrilla, 53, 2917 Houma Blvd., Metairie, was being held under $35,000 bond at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center.

JPSOLazaro Parrilla

"This guy did this in front of several people who were sitting just a few feet away from the victim," said Col. John Fortunato, spokesman for the Sheriff's Office.

The incident occurred Sunday about 3:20 p.m. at an apartment complex in the 3100 block of Houma Boulevard, two blocks from Parrilla's address, a Sheriff's Office arrest report said. The boy was in courtyard with several other children, his mother and several of her friends.

But the boy had managed to remove his diaper, leaving himself naked from the waist down.

Witnesses told investigators that Parrilla was bicycled down the street then returned, the report said. He walked up to the boy -- in front of three witnesses -- and began taking pictures of the child's genitals, Fortunato said. Witnesses told investigators Parrilla also touched the boy before leaving the apartments on his bike.

The boy's mother called 911. Deputies were taking statements at the apartment building when Parrilla rode by again, the report said. They stopped and questioned him.

Parrilla told detectives he spoke with the child but only out of concern that the boy was not wearing pants, the arrest report said. He admitted to bending down near the child but denied touching the boy or taking photos.

Detective Randall Fernandez seized two phones from Parrilla. Fortunato said the Sheriff's Office will seek warrants to search the phones for any inappropriate photos of children.